Sorry to all you Obamacare Haters

++The weekend saw an amazing rise of propaganda and hate against the Affordable Care Act. Senator Ted Cruz, the Junior Senator from Canada,again went on the tube to argue against his fellow Republicans that you can defund Obamacare. Of course, this is all a stunt for his fund-raising. Fox News Chris Wallace was flabbergasted that he would believe this, even quoting faxes sent to him from GOP staffers. Even Karl Rove grumpily read off Wall Street Journal poll numbers that showed Americans don't support this.

++Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal reported on conversations he had with both Cruz and the head of Heritage Foundation former Senator Jim DeMint, who both admitted you can't defund Obamacare. But both men know a goldmine among the conservative base for this issue. This will be the fund-raising issue through 2014 and into the presidential primaries.

++The success of Obamacare will depend on how well the states, who are friendly to ACA, carry out the reform. Because large states like Texas and Florida will not be extending Medicaid benefits to the uninsured,the number of uninsured will not diminish by the 11 million  contained in these states. The other problem will be in explaining any premium increases. Your health insurance policy now must meet all the criteria of Obamacare and therefore it is a much stronger insurance policy than before. No one seems to get this. 

++If the federal government collapsed tomorrow because of the budget fight, the state exchanges and the federal component to this will still leave the station on October 1. The next attacks will occur when people complain that they haven't received any benefits, which start January 1. Republicans are betting that the roll-out will be rockier than Medicare Plan D under George W. Democrats are betting the more the American public now the more appeal it will have.  It's going to be better than Plan D and slightly worse than Democrats think.

++Remember Social Security when it began did not cover farm workers and African-Americans.

++Bloggers from red states like Texas are reporting that those states' are kicking off people from catastrophic health insurance now so they must wait until January 1 to get coverage under ACA if they can access it. The increase of insurance rates in red states are being blamed on ACA,when they are the result of insurers taking advantage of deliberately not participating in the program.

++The campaign for young people not to get insurance is really not aimed at colleges like the Americans for Prosperity claim. These students have access to cheaper college programs and are covered by their families plans. It is all about raising money.

++The latest stunt of the day by Senator Carnaval Cruz is that he will submit CR's to cut military spending until the Democrats cry uncle. Representative Nancy Pelosi warned Republicans that there is nothing more to cut from the federal government. 

++Just a FYI, when the government shut down in the mid-1990s under Newt Gingrich, the size of the federal government, meaning employees, was the same size as today. Think about that--in over 18 years, the size of the federal government has not grown. Also note the House budget factors in the savings from Obamacare while defunding it. It also represents a budget that factors in sequestration cuts that already were made and hence lowers the overall budget considerably. Smoke and Mirrors.

++I expect Janet Yallin to be nominated as FED Chairperson. I also like Democrats again raising the issue that President Obama should raise the debt ceiling himself and let the courts decide.